Steam cloth



M. KOENIG March 7, 1961 STEAMCLOTH Filed May 21, 195'? FIG. 3

FIG. 4

Inventor MATH/AS KOEN/G .QWLJ. Q...

Pqtent Agent STEAM cLorn Mathias Koenig, 65 Chestnut Park Road, Toronto Ontario, Canada Filed May 21, 1957, Ser. No. 660,599

2 Claims. (Cl. 12S-399) 'Ihis invention relates to an applicator for distributing heat over a portion of a human body.

The device has a particular use during facial treatments in a barbershop or beauty salon. During barbershop treatments it is a common practice to apply a hot towel previously immersed in hot water, to the face of a customer. after shaving the customer to promote relaxation and to stimulate circulation to the facial area, and to eX- tend pore openings. To avoid an uncomfortable Vsuffocating experience a series of hot towels are arranged about the face of the customer leaving aportion uncovered to facilitate breathing. The alternative of this procedure is to apply one towel to one portion of the face and to repeat the operation for other facial portions.

Similarly beauty salon operators employ this system of operation upon female customers to stimulate circulation during facial treatments. In addition, persons in the home apply heat to their faces in the course of daily facial preparation, ordinarily using face cloths of common design which are not suitable for practical application. The use of towels in the home for this purpose is generally prohibitive, since the towels original purpose is defeated upon becoming wetted.

Towels and face cloths are generally not of suliicient thickness to retain heat for a complete treatment in one application.

In effect, a facial heat treatment, through well-know and recognized as beneficial is generally produced through applicators whichare not specifically designed for the purpose, therefore achieving an unsatisfactory result.

A disadvantage of existing methods of heat application may be overcome by an applicator having suicient dimensions to cover a required portion of the body, and which provides an aperture through which comfortable breathing may be facilitated.

Other disadvantages may be overcome by the provision in an applicator of an inner insulating means between the two outer surfaces to permit heat to be retained within the portion adjacent the body.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the applicator as applied to the face of -a person which is indicated partly in broken line.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the applicator.

Figure 3 is a view along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

`Figure 4 is a view along line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the applicator is generally indicated by the reference numeral 10, and formed of two identical knitted sectionsll joined by binding or serging their common edges 12. Opposite edges 13 are left unbound, thus forming an applicator of double thickness joined only along two parallel edges 12. A slotted open means or vent 14 centrallyv located through sections 11 and parallel to edges 13 provides anopening through the surfaces of the applicator.

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ami a' relatively thickrhooked pire farming anbufef Surg, face 16 ,the .edges '12 of each jsection being'joined to present an applicator having two identical outer surfaces and two identical adjacent inner surfaces. 4'

Section 11 is preferably fabricatedof two-ply 36 yarn; at twelve ends to the inch, the yarn being formed of a material commonly known under the trade name nylon, and is preferably knitted according to a practice wellknown in the `art utilizing an automatic Raschel fiat vertical knitting machine to produce a looped pile stitch.

Surface 15 is formed by the tightly knit portion of the stitch, whereas the looped portion of the stitch forms the pile surface 16.

The vent or slotted opening 14 is formed during the knitting operation by means of guide bars providing an unknit portion of two adjacent yarns in accordance with common practice in the operation of Raschel automatic machines. The edges of the opening or vent formed in this manner do not require binding or serging to prevent unravelling of the yarn which would occur if the material were cut to provide the opening.

A looped pile stitch is used in preference to a cut pile stitch because of the inherent tendency of the latter to become unravelled during use.

In operation the article is immersed in water having a temperature slightly greater than that desired to be applied. After soaking, the applicator is withdrawn and wrung to release the absorbed water, and applied to the body. Y

In the event that a facial -application is required, the device is placed to permit protrusion of the nose through the slot 14 to facilitate breathing as indicated in Figure 1.

The heat absorbed by the applicator is almost totally transferred to the body with only a slight waste of heat to the atmosphere.

Either side of the applicator maybe applied to the Y body and the heat absorbed within the surface adjacent to the body is almost entirely transmitted to the skin due to the insulation provided by the closely knitted inner surface 15. 'Ihe large surface area produced by the loose pile of the outer surfaces 16 permits absorption and storage of a relatively large amount of heat for application. f

The edges 12 of sections 11 may be joined by serging or any other means well-knownin the art. Edges 13 are left unbound to permit spreading of the applicator to facilitate drying thereof after use. An 4applicator of double thickness is preferred due to` the extra weight produced to permit the device to conform to facial and other body contours, upon application thereto.

The non-abrasive, hard wearing, properties of nylon, together with its water repellant nature for easy wringing, and its high heat absorption, are reasons for its preferred use, but it will be realised that other synthetic or natural fibrous substances may be effectively used in the construction of the applicator.

What I claim as my invention is:

ll. A wringable steam cloth for facial application of steam heat or the like comprising: a wear resistant nonabrasive cloth body formed of two-ply water repellant yarns knitted to form a Raschel looped pile stitch characterized by a heat retaining pile; a vent in said body in the form of a slit therein defined by an unknit length in two adjacent yarns within said body, said vent being adapted to accommodate Vthe nose of the user; and means binding the peripheral edges ofsaid body.

2. A wringable steam cloth for application of heat or the like to the face of the Vuser and comprising in combination: a pair of identical wear resistant clothY bodiesV each havingV peripheral edges,r said bodies being formed of two-ply, wear repellant yarn of at least twelve ends to the and knitted to form a Raschel looped pile,

j Patented. Mar. 7,. 196,1,

stitch characterized by a heat retaining pile; said cloth bodies having an inner closely knitted surface and a thick looped pile forming an outer surface; a vent in each of said bodies aligned with ythe vent inthe other. of said bodies and being in the form of a slit therein dened by an unknit length in .two adjacent yarns within each body said vents being `adapted to accommodate the nose of the user; and means binding the peripheral edges of said outwardly.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Morris May 3, 1927 Jeffery Mar. 3, 1936 

